Gardens: A new book charts the British love of gardening

Published on Tuesday 7 December 2010 15:52

There are all sorts of traits you could argue are part of the British national identity, from a tolerance of queuing to a never-ending desire to discuss the weather.

When it comes to gardening, we must be one of the world's most green-fingered islands. A survey by the National Trust found that more than 70 per cent of people felt it was important to spend time in gardens, and over half of those said it was the most enjoyable thing they did.

Gardening historian Twigs Way argues that Britain's love of gardening is rare. "Having a house with a garden is something that almost everyone aspires to," she says, "whereas much of the rest of Europe have traditionally been happy with apartments and flats."

Way is the author of a new book, A Nation of Gardeners (20, Prion), which takes us on an entertaining journey from the end of the ice age to the present day, looking at the key people, trends and events which have shaped our love of gardening. Some 12,000 years ago, things did not look promising for any wannabe British gardeners.

As the ice sheets rolled back, there were only about 200 species of plants remaining; none of them particularly exciting. But as the climate improved, the number of species increased, with settlers from the continent bringing plants.

It was the Romans who really enriched our gardens by surrounding their villas with clipped box hedging, introducing lawns, large trees, roses, mallows and many other plants.

"They did bring a lot of plants with them and some important techniques," says Way, "although a lot was lost when they left and coincidentally we had a bit of a downturn in the climate. Much had to be reimported and rediscovered in the medieval period and later."

During that medieval period, the focus of ordinary people's gardens was the vegetables that would feed them through the year. Many gardens also contained herbs for curing ills, such as pennyroyal for headaches and sage for sore throats.

Meanwhile, royalty was setting trends, with Queen Eleanor of Provence leading the way in the 13th century, popularising the continental walled garden style and introducing plants such as hollyhock, alongside cottage garden favourites including pinks, cowslips and honeysuckle.

The warming climate saw more plants arrive, collected by monks travelling between monasteries and soldiers returning from the crusades. By the time Henry VIII was in power, the gardens being created at palaces such as Hampton Court were on a lavish scale, with colour and pattern everywhere.

Over the coming centuries, exploration of other lands continued to make an impact, with successive monarchs and adventurers introducing plants and styles, which filtered down to everyday people.

"I like to think that the book highlights the importance of the middle and working classes to gardening and garden fashions," says Way. "For example, 'cottage gardens' which originated with the rural labouring poor became very fashionable, and still are."

The Victorian era saw the pursuit of gardening become both a craze and a commercial industry, with inventions, gardening books and must-have plants appearing every month.

During this period the railways were vital in delivering all sorts of goods, from seeds to summerhouses. Middle-class gardens in suburbia would feature essentials such as a circle of bedding plants set in the lawn, lots of scarlet geraniums and a shady shrubbery.

Larger gardens might also feature a small lily pond, rose garden and brightly planted borders using "ribbon bedding", featuring colourful lines of plants. The most popular plants included verbenas, petunias, begonias and heliotrope.

In terms of Victorian inventions, Way says there were a couple that really left a lasting impact. "Glasshouses for the masses were probably the most significant innovation," she says.

"They became available cheaply due to different techniques in glassmaking and the use of metals. This meant that everyone could overwinter plants or raise plants that were tender. The lawnmower was the other innovation. Although scything created a good lawn, it was not really suitable for the small suburban lawn, and was a skilled job. The invention of the lawnmower meant that everyone could have an immaculate striped lawn to off-set their colourful flower borders."

A Nation of Gardeners leads us through the Edwardian era and into the 20th century as the desire for beautiful gardens continued until the outbreak of war in August 1914.

The loss of life of so many men had a devastating effect on the larger estates and gardens and for the first time, the trend for growing your own became a necessity for all.

The later Dig for Victory campaign of the Second World War was hugely successful, seeing lawns ripped up in favour of vegetables as the hobby of gardening became a patriotic duty.

"The Dig for Victory campaign turned many people off allotments for the rest of their lives," says Way, "and allotment numbers plummeted in the decades after the war for all sorts of reasons, not least the impact of instant and frozen foods. It took The Good Life movement of the 1970s and then, more recently, concerns over GM and climate change, to reverse the decline of allotments."

A Nation of Gardeners investigates the trend for outdoor living that began in the 1950s; the joy of decking and the move towards wildlife gardens, showing that gardening fashions continue to evolve. Twigs Way thinks there is lots we can learn by studying our gardening heritage, saying, "Everywhere I go I see design that refers to elements of the past, even where the designer is not aware of it.

"Until recently many garden owners had not had the opportunity to study garden history and were unaware of the role that politics, religion and the economy have played in garden design in the past. Anyone who reads a book on garden history will find that it opens up a new world of understanding about the role of gardens, and that has to be inspirational."

This article was first published in The Scotsman, 1 January, 2011